


If I had known—

by Raw_Ramen_Noodles



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers Endgame, Idiots in Love, M/M, Sacrifice, Self-Sacrifice, Spider-Man: Far From Home (Movie), Um Tony didn’t marry Pepper, but it’s big angst, haha they’re in love but they didn’t know, metal arms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:08:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26240908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raw_Ramen_Noodles/pseuds/Raw_Ramen_Noodles
Summary: Remix of Avengers: Endgame, where instead of Clint and Natasha, the people who go to the cliffs of Vormir are Steve and Tony, both of whom have been hiding their feelings for each other for years.Dramatic angst ensures, and somebody still has to jump
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

Tony crosses his arms looking down at the snowy rocks underneath them. Well, in al reality that probably wasn't snow, but it was close enough given that he didn't have time to do a full scientific evaluation of the planet. Steve's boots crunch on a bit of loose gravel and Tony exhales loudly. "Can you be more quiet." 

"God, sorry," Steve says in a way that makes it clear that he's not sorry. 

Before Tony can retaliate and say something he'll probably regret a voice cuts through the howling wind. "Welcome." Steve draws his shield in sync with Tony's repulser charging up at the shadowy figure stepping towards them. "Tony, son of Maria. Steve, son of Sarah." 

"Nice party trick, how about you step into the light," Tony shouts back over the wind, not lowering his repulser at all. 

The shadowed figure chuckles menacingly, not doing as Tony asked. What a pisshat, really. "Consider me a guide, to you, and all who seek the Soul Stone." 

"Great, let's go see it and we can be on our merry way," Tony says, feeling Steve physically tens up next to him as the figure chuckles again and says something in German. 

"If only it were that easy," he says, finally stepping forward into the light of the eclipsed sun. 

"Mother fucker," Steve curses at the newly revealed red skull. 

"Language, Captain Rogers. I must say, I did not expect to meet again," the red skull says, with an almost happy look on his deformed face. 

Tony cuts in before they can come to blows once more. "Yippee, how about you take us up now, jackass." The red skull fixes him with a look and turns back around climbing up towards the peak. Tony lowers his gauntlet, looking over at Steve, who has a massively pissed off (and upset) look on his face. Steve looks back over at him, then sighs and follows after the red skull. Tony follows as well, not particularly loving the idea of being left behind, even in his suit. 

Well the skull does indeed lead them to the stone, or at least to a big ass cliff. "What you seek lays in front of you... as does what you fear." The skull declares to them, standing near the edge of the massive cliff. 

"It's down there?" Tony challenges, turning his attention on the skull. 

"For one of you. For the other.." Tony blinks, understanding dawning on him. This was a mission of which only one of them would be returning from. It's ok, they'll figure it out. They always do. "In order to take the stone, you must loose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul for a soul." 

"Can you fuck out of here for a minute," Tony snaps back at him, "we don't need your dumb shit riddles." 

"Very well, Stark." He turns away and sweeps back the way they came, settling to stay back next to a large boulder, turning to stare at them from the distance. 

"He's creepy," Tony says off handedly, looking back down the cliff. "I guess we have to make a decision."

"Tony I.." Steve trails off, looking down the cliff with a pained look on his face. 

Tony's gut clenches in a way it hasn't in a long time. "It has to be you." Steve snaps back to look at him, his eyes widening. "I'm sorry. I know you don't love me, but I love you, so it has to be you." 

Tears form in Steve's eyes, and before Tony can realize what's happening, Steve is hugging him as tight as he can through the armor. "Tony. Tony. I've always loved you." 

Sure, Tony is a genius. That doesn't stop the words from registering late. "I'm sorry, what? You left me for dead in a bunker in Siberia after beating the shit out of me, Rogers. That's not love." It can't be true. It can't be true, because then, that would mean that... they had wasted so much time. Years and years they could've spent not so alone. Tony's crying too, and clinging back to Steve, metal clad fingers digging into Kevlar. 

"I know. I know, I'm sorry. But I do, I swear." 

"Ok. I believe you." Tony pushes him back, Steve landing on his ass, tears tuning down on his face in front of Tony as his armor peels back. "Fri, don't come no matter what he says." Fear dawns in Steve's eyes as the words register, but Tony's running—sprinting towards the cliff as fast as he can. 

"No!" The scream is anguished like a knife through Tony's heart, but he closes his eyes , letting the tears fall as he hurls himself over the cliff towards the rocky bottom below. "Friday!"

They say your life flashes before your eyes in the moments before your death. Tony would argue that that's not exactly true. All he could see was clarity. Everything he had ever done, every choice he had ever made was all leading up to this moment, this sacrifice. Him and Steve had never had it easy. It had never been easy, but Tony had never been happier to be loved by someone ever, because that was all it took to save Steve's life. No matter what, Steve would be able to walk away from here, alive and with the stone. They could save Earth, save everyone. Maybe Steve would take care of Peter. That would be nice. His rocky death grows ever closer but all he can see is Steve's blue eyes, staring at him with tears streaming down his face. If this was it, Tony was happy to die like this. 

Steve was safe. His Steve was safe.. alive. They would get the stones and the world would be saved, and Tony wouldn't be forgotten, but Steve could live out the rest of his life. 

Roaring wind races past his ears, then Tony feels pressure on his right arm his eyes snap open to see a red and gold gauntlet, then another snapping over his arms. Two boots, followed by the chest piece ant the helmet folding over his head. "No! Friday!"

"I'm sorry boss, Captain Rogers used override code 177235." 

"Mother fucker. Friday, take me up to the clouds." This was just like Steve. Tony hadn't even remembered the override codes, but of course he had. Tony had tried to save Steve, and no luck. 

"I'm sorry boss, my directions were clear to save you and bring you back safely."

The ascent back to the top is long, and Tony can only stew in his pissed off condition. What right did Steve have? Absolutely none, whatsoever. The worse part still was that now Steve could sacrifice himself, and Tony would have to go on alone.. back to the people who had always cared for Steve more than him. Their friends. Everything would be the way it had always been, but he had been given a glimmer of what could be. This would be hell. "Now listen here you stupid fucking baboon," Tony growls as soon as his feet hit the ground. 

"I know Tony please I know. I love you so much, you can't do that." He's hugging Tony again, but Tony can only bristle under his touch now. 

"Yeah, dumbass, I love you too! Why cant you just let me sacrifice myself this once!" He tries to push Steve away again, but his grip is to tight. 

"Don't be stupid! You've always sacrificed yourself Tony! I should return the favor. Please.. I can't live another day without you." He's still crying.

"Well, did you consider." Tony's crying too. "That I can't live another day without you either!" Tony lets himself slump forward resigned to the hug no matter how mad he was. 

Steve doesn't respond for a long time, choked off sobs the only sound that come from his throat. The red skull watches on, the same satisfied smile on his face as he walks forward. "I have a solution to your dilemma," he says, his voice sickly in a way that makes Tony's blood coil. 

"I should kill you," he declares. 

"Good luck. No, my proposition is to the Captain." 

Steve pulls away ever so slightly, his hand keeping an unbearably tight grip on Tony's wrist so he can't jump again. "What," he growls. 

"You must loose that which you love," he repeats, staring into Steve's eyes. 

"Steve." Tony says once. But Steve looks back at him with clarity in his own eyes. 

"I love you Tony. If this works.. I love you." Then it's Steve racing towards the cliffs edge and Tony left behind crying. Tony starts after him, but stops at the edge, staring down at his falling figure. Whatever Steve was going to try, he had to let it happen. 

Tony glares back at the skull. "What the hell are you getting at?" 

"The Captain made his own choice. Either way, you will walk away with the soul stone." He turns away and walks back the way they had come, away from Tony and away from Steve. 

"Damnit." Tony looks back down at Steve, and his limp body slamming into the rocks. A sob escapes his throat. "No.. please.." Tony squeezes his eyes shut letting the tears fall with reckless abandon. He looks up into the sky opening up above him, lighting up with electricity, power. "Please!" Tony screams, hysterically pleading with the sky. With a blinding flash, Tony feels his body go limp, endless nothing around his bodiless mind, before the universe returns to him. 

He's in a pool of cold water, which he realizes first. Second, the weight of a cool stone pressed into his gauntlet. Third, fingers moving in his other hand. "Steve," he pleads, his eyelids still just too heavy to open. 

"Tony." 

Tony's eyes snap open and his body is solid again as he sits up, gasping for air through his tears. He looks down at Steve, who is smiling up at him, his lips parted. He looks different. Weaker. "Steve what—" Steve launches himself up at Tony, thinner arms wrapping around his shoulders. 

"I love you so much." Tony's hands automatically wrap around his body, finding him much thinner than ever before. The serum. He gave up the serum. "I'm sorry. I get it if you—" 

"Shut up Rogers. I'm just glad you're alive." Tony breathes in his scent for a moment, thankful for everything. Whatever it takes had—for once—not meant everything they had. "For the record, I love you too. And hey, we got the stone," he holds it up between his fingers. 

"Yay," Steve laughs, leaning back just a little, a smile on his face, wider than Tony had ever seen it before. "What do you say we go home?" 

Tony rises, pulling up the now much shorter Steve Rogers with him. "Sounds good to me Cap." Both their suits fold over their bodies, Steve's actually fitting to his frame that the Captain America uniform had dwarfed. He looked good. Thinner, but good. Who was Tony to question space magic when it had saved Steve's life? 

"3.." Steve looks up at him.

"2.." Tony smiles.

"1.." the world blinks out of existence as they race through the time streams back to 2023.

They did it. They had all the stones. Tony looks around at his team, unfolding hands and cases to reveal the six infinity stones, reunited once more after 5 years. 

"You're smaller," Nat observes. 

Steve snorts.

"Please. I need you to go back to New York," Tony says, standing next to his car, with Steve's hand in his. 

"I'm not so fragile that I can't stay here." 

"That's not what I mean, Steve. If this works, which it should, we'll need to find Stephen Strange. He'll probably come back on another planet, but I can't imagine him not returning to the sanctum in New York." Tony hands him the keys. "I know you can handle yourself, which is why I need you to find him to.. to find Peter." 

Steve lets out a deep breath, taking the keys. "Fine. I'll see you soon." 

Tony sets a hand on his shoulder, then steps away. "Be safe." 

"That's my line." Steve says solemnly, getting into the car with a sad look on his face. He was wearing Tony's clothes, if only because nobody else's would fit him now. At least, not that's in the compound. Steve drives away, the engine on the sports car revving of its own accord. 

Tony walks back into the compound, straight towards the lab, where the iron gauntlet was sitting, just waiting to hold the power of the universe. 

Sure, why not. 

One last mission. At least Steve was safe now. There was no telling what this would do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, everybody survived! Unfortunately, somebody is still going to snap. Endgame is far from over and there is no certainty that both of them will make it out alive. Stay tuned for more. Next chapter will be up before the end of the week.


	2. Chapter 2

"I am inevitable." Thanos snaps his fingers, and everything seems to stop. 

"And I.." tears swell up in Tony's eyes. Just when he and Steve had found each other, it was almost fitting for them to be ripped apart like this. He could feel it all. He could feel every moment of never ending earth shattering pain rushing through his body. "Am." Steve flashes through his eyes, not the Steve that he had always known, but Steve in the seconds before they had left Vormir. His blue eyes sparkling with the same ferocity Tony had always known. Thinner, but still just as strong as he had always seemed. Thank god he wasn't here. This image wouldn't have to be in his eyes forever. Tony knew this was it for him. He knew he was done for. There was no magic save, no way out.

There was no cutting the wire this time. "Ironman." Tony snaps, a moment of deafening silence crashing around them. Right before his eyes, the army turns to dust. Finally finally Thanos turn to dust as well. He was gone. Tony did it. Tony stumbles forward and falls back into the ground. Rhodey finds him first, falling to his knees in front of Tony. He cups his cheek and Tony musters a small smile. 

Then Peter lands "Mr. Stark," he gasps. Rhodey smiles and steps back as Peter falls forward towards him. "Hey. Mr. Stark can you hear me? It's Peter."

"Get Strange Pete." 

"Y—yeah. Yes Mr. Stark. I'm on it sir." Peter swings always and Pepper lands in her Rescue suit. 

"Tony. You're going to be ok. We're going to be okay." She sets her hand on Tony's shoulder and Strange steps out of a portal with Peter. "Friday." 

"Life functions critical." 

"Steve," Tony whispers, looking up at Strange pleadingly. Apparently he gets it because a portal opens, Steve Rogers in a set of Tony's clothes—even those were too big for him now—on the other side, stepping out, with his eyes wide. "Steve." 

"No. No no no." Steve stumbles forward out of the portal onto the open field of destruction. He collapses in front of Tony, grabbing for his hand. "Tony no, you can't." 

"I'm sorry." 

"No no. Strange, do something." He looks away at Stephen, who opens his mouth in an empty motion. "Do something! We're the Avengers!" His hand grasps at Tony's shakily. Nobody says anything. The burns are too bad. Tony knows that. He knew he was going to die from the moment he set them in the gauntlet. "You're the Avengers..." Steve whispers, something in his eyes breaking. He takes in a shaky breath, and looks down at the ark reactor, and then further down to the stones. 

Too fast for Tony to stop, Steve grabs at Tony's burnt up hand, pulling the reality stone into his palm. There is a chorus of panicked screams as red light burns it's way up into Steve's arm. His eyes slip closed and he lets out a scream of his own, a flash of red light enveloping Tony's vision. 

Tony is floating. 

He's nothing, he's nothing, he's everything. He wakes up with a gasp to a too bright room, with wires poking out of him everywhere he looks. The monitor begins beeping frantically and around the corner appears a girl peters age with her hair braided up into a bun. Shuri. He was in Wakanda. 

He wasn't dead. 

"Mr. Stark. You're awake," she says, a smile blooming onto her face. "Once again, I have saved a broken white boy." Tony groans in response, as pain courses into his body—or was that pain killers? "Don't stress yourself. You are safe." 

"Steve." Because it wasn't really Shuri who had saved him, it was Steve. 

"Making a better recovery than you," she says sharply. "For the record, thank you." 

"Any time," Tony mumbles, his mind still fuzzy around the edges. 

"Actually, that was the last time." She moves up next to him, pulling a tablet up to show him a figure of his own body. "Unfortunately, we had to remove your arm because it was.. well, not pretty. Due to your heart condition, and your reduced lung capacity, as well as your ever rising age." Tony has half the mind to be offended. "I must advise you to be permanently removed from the Avengers Active Roster. You can rest now, sir." 

Tony blinks up at her. "Yes.."

"From What Peter has told me, I had thought it would be harder to convince you." She pats his hand. "Would you like me to find Captain Rogers?" 

"Please," Tony says, peeking up at the mention of Peter. It was good to know he was ok, and apparently hitting it off with Princess Shuri. He would have to remember to tease Peter about that later. She walks away, leaving Tony alone with his thoughts for only a few minutes before Steve bursts back in, also missing an arm. Tony blinks, before he feels an arm squeezing tightly around his neck and the weight of heavy breath against his neck. "Steve." 

"They told me you weren't going to wake up," he says desperately, "but I couldn't leave." 

"Wait... how long has it been," Tony asks, wrapping one arm around Steve as best he can while trying not to mess with the wires. There was no telling what they were doing. 

Steve answers instantly, in the way that makes it easy for Tony to tell exactly how desperately Steve has been counting. "Six months since I woke up. Seven since the battle. I missed you." 

"Did you hear they're taking me out of duty?" Tony says, thankful that Steve wasn't moving to pull away. 

"Yeah me too," Steve jokes. 

"How did you survive." 

Steve shrugs against him. "Honestly they tried to explain it, but I don't think they really know either. My best guess is the serum, or maybe even the soul stone." 

"So luck." 

"Luck." 

"That's two times you saved me now," Tony says, tightening his grip on Steve's loose clothes. 

"I don't wanna play this game, let's just call it even." 

"Deal. I love you." 

"I love you too. We should get matching arms." Steve breaths in deeply, apparently savoring Tony's presence as much as Tony was. 

"Whatever you want." 

"How about matching wedding bands." It's asked casually, so Tony blames both Steve and his foggy mind fog the fact that he didn't understand the question right away. 

Tony blinks, then smiles. "Ask me again later. Properly, next time cap." 

"With rings?" 

"With rings." 

The recovery process was long, in the way that things always seem to be. Unfortunately, it seems the world can wait no longer when they receive news of a massive fire monster attacking the city of Prague, and Spider-Man being the only one fighting it, along with some guy Tony doesn't know, and doesn't like already. Nobody hangs out with his underoos. They hold a press conference in Wakanda on July 2nd, both Steve and Tony's matching arms and rings on full display as they reveal that neither heroes had died and that both were retiring. 

Unfortunately less than an hour later, reports come in of another big monster attack, until it starts to dissolve, revealing StarkIndustry drones. Tony looks at Steve and Steve looks at Tony and wordlessly they jump into action, running up into the nearest quinjet. "Friday," Tony says, typing in the coding to wake her up. Oh the perks of being a tech giant. 

"Good afternoon boss, it's good to see you back in the game." 

"Yeah, thanks Fri, can you get us to London?" 

"On it, boss." 

Tony looks back at Steve. "No plan. No gear. We're not even Avengers." 

"Your kids in danger. We can make a plan." Steve sets a comforting hand on his shoulder, falling into the co-pilots seat next to him. 

"We can make a plan," Tony repeats. 

Except by the time they arrive, a plan appears to be no longer necessary. The drones are retreating into the sky and there's no screaming or crying. Just eerie silence.. the kind that comes after a disaster. 

"Call Peter Parker." Tony says to Friday, and the plane starts ringing. 

"M-Mr. Stark?" Peter asks shakily. 

"Hey kid. We're in London, where are you at?" 

"I'm.. I'm I don't know actually, I'm on a bridge. You're here?" 

"Oh yeah! Did you not see the press conference? Me and Rogers are no longer officially dead as of.. an hour ago." Tony feels a hand slip into his. "I'll just track you kid." 

"Okay.. ok. Um, Happy's with my friends at the Tower of London." 

"We'll pick them up kiddo. It's all okay now." It takes a matter of seconds for Friday to pull up Peters location. "See you in a second." 

"Yeah. Bye sir." 

The call disconnects and Tony reaches for Steve's hand. "He sounds... really rattled." 

"Well.. we know better than most that it never gets any easier." Steve says, smiling sadly over at Tony. He squeezes Tony's hand before Tony pulls it back to bring the quinjet down towards where he sees Peter standing with a teenage girl carrying a mace. Sure why not. 

Tony opens the back, letting it hover near the bridge. "We can't set down so you can just jump in here!" He shouts back at Peter. Seconds later, Peter jumps for it, with the girl who Tony could now recognize as MJ from the academic decathlon team, clutched to his side. He was bleeding more than Tony liked, but somebody had to fly the jet. "Hey kiddo. Hi MJ" 

"Holy fuck." She says, staring at him wide eyed. "I mean, I guess I should've known that he wasn't kidding, but really, holy shit. I thought you were dead. How do you know me? Who are you?" She directs the last statement at Steve and Tony decides he likes her. Smart, fast thinker... not unlike Tony in that. 

"Steve Rogers," Steve introduces giving her a little wave. "Hi Peter." 

Tony chuckles. "You're on the ac dec team. And we're not dead. I guess you both missed the press conference?" 

"We almost died, sir. And I woke up in jail this morning." Peter deadpans, slumping into one of the seats. 

Whatever the fuck that meant. Yeah, there would be a long conversation later. "Not to interrupt your r&r, but you should change if we're gonna go get your friends," Tony says, tossing back a pair of pants and an AC DC tee shirt. It wasn't mandatory, but a vast majority of quinjets had at least one pair of clothes on them, because they all came with some picked out by Tony. Another perk of being a tech giant, you can force good fashion sense onto others. 

"MJ, you can come up here," Steve says. Tony makes a kissy face at him and he rolls his eyes. She does come and looks between them, and their joined metal arms. 

"So are you guys like dating?" 

"MJ," Peter says, his suit halfway off. 

Tony laughs. "It's ok. No actually." He takes his left hand off the controls and wiggles his fingers. "Engaged." 

"Oh. Cool." She looks at Steve with scrutiny. "Why are you... uh, tiny?" 

Peter makes another noise of protest, pulling on Tony's jeans. "I traded Captain America for the lives of all the people that got snapped," Steve says bluntly. 

"Cool. Thanks." 

"My pleasure." Tony rubs Steve's knuckles in a way that the both of them did a lot since coming out of the war. 

"Ah there's Happy!" Tony says, setting down next to an upside down car. "You good Pete?" 

"Never better," he grumbles, slumping back down into the chair and grabbing the med kit off the wall. 

"Stevie, can you help Peter with his wounds? I've got some kids to take care of." Steve nods, and Tony gets up, tugging on the suit he happens to be still wearing from the press conference. "Fri, open the door." The ramp lowers and Tony walks out. "Happy!" He shouts, holding his arms open in a rather dramatic gesture. 

"Holy shit, we died," Flash says. 

"Tony, thank god," Happy says, slumping and walking towards him. "No more dying for you. I can't handle the stress." 

"You're not dead." Tony says with aN award winning wink, "How did none of you see the press conference?" 

"I did." Betty holds her hand up.. the hand that wasn't holding Ned's. Oh goodie, just think of all the juicy teen gossip he would be able to wring out of Peter as soon as he wasn't like.. in shock. 

"Good girl," Tony says pointing at her. She preens under the praise. Good. He liked to make kids feel good about themselves. "Alright, who wants to take the fast track home with me? Rhetorical question, just get on the jet." 

The kids file onto the jet, and Tony can feel the adrenaline wearing off of them. Yeah, they were going to crash hard and fast. "So everything's good boss?" 

"Everything's good. Come on Happy." Tony walks back towards the jet and up the ramp, to find the kids crowded around Peter and Steve, asking a plethora of questions. Good questions, really, given that they didn't know he was Spider-Man. Well, except for Ned. And apparently MJ. "Hey!" They all fall silent and look at him with a bit of fear. Yeah, he might be 54, but he's still got it. "Sit down kids. You may ask me questions once we get in the air, not them." The teenagers silently get into the surrounding chairs, and Steve goes back to patching Peter up. Tony sets a hand on Steve's shoulder in the quiet commotion. "You good?" 

"I'm good." Steve looks up at him with a smile. Tony walks back up to the pilots seat. Friday immediately begins preparing the Jet for take off and they get up into the air in only a few seconds, heading straight for New York. 

"Okay kids, who wants to go first?" 

None of them speak up for a long moment, until Flash finally says something. "Why were Peter and MJ already here?" 

"Good question. I picked them up because I saw them."

"Ok but sir.." Betty says. "How do you know us?" 

Tony shrugs. "You're friends with my favorite intern, and Peter is friends with Spider-Man, which is how Happy found you guys." 

That seems to satisfy that line of questioning, which Tony couldn't be more grateful for. He didn't have much better answers than that. "Ok um.. who's he?" Ned says and Peter hits him in the arm. 

"I'm Steve." Steve says easily, smiling up at Ned, from where he had the med kit balanced on Peters knees. 

"Captain America." Betty says, with a little bit of awe in her voice. "The article I read said that you had a ring on your metal hand, is that true?" Steve holds up the arm to prove it, and she squeals. "Omg, who is she?" 

Steve chuckles. "His name is Tony." Tony holds up his own left hand to prove it. Betty squeals again.

"No way." Flash says gawking. 

"Yes way," Tony counters, challenging him to say shit. He doesn't, gladly.

"Um.. why is Peter so scraped up?" Betty asks, leaning into Neds shoulder, obviously falling into that post adrenaline tired haze. 

Tony raises his brows. "It would be hard not to get that scraped up in events like these. It's a miracle you're all okay." That apparently satisfies all their questions to the point where they just don't have the energy to prod deeper, so no words are spoken until Steve rises to his feet, patting Peter's shoulder.

"Try to get some sleep kid." Then Steve returns to slide right back into the seat next to Tony, their hands spanning the middle area almost immediately. 

Tony looks over at him and smiles. Sure, they were both worse for wear, but they were alive and together, against all the odds. Against the universe itself. Now, they might actually be able to settle down somewhere. Together. Alive. "You can sleep too." Tony says, looking back at the, indeed, mostly asleep group of teens, and even Happy. 

"It's ok." Steve rubs Tony's knuckles with his thumb gently, soothing him into dropping the subject. Either Steve would sleep or he wouldn't, it didn't make a difference, not really. No matter what, once they get to wherever they decide to spend the night, they would be tired and together. 

Tony hits the auto fly button—which would keep them straight and steady until it was hit again—and leans over to kiss Steve gently. "Thank you." 

"For what," Steve says, rubbing his jaw gently. 

"For not letting me fall."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allrighty. Whewh. So um.. my original intent for this fic included Steve dying on Vormir, and Tony following suit at the Battle for the Universe. Obviously that didn’t happen, because apparently I don’t know how to write anything with an unhappy ending. So if you liked this, say thanks to my monkey brain lol. Comments and Kudos are always appreciated 😊


End file.
